Stephen Hawking Dead at 76

Cosmologist Stephen Hawking has died at the age of 76. His death was reported by The New York Times and confirmed by a spokesperson at Cambridge University, where Hawking worked for dozens of years.

While Hawking's name has been synonymous with "genius" since he burst into the scientific community in the early 1970s, his work specialized in physics and gravity, with the bulk of his research exploring the concept of black holes and the theory of relativity as we know it. (If you're further intrigued, his 1988 book A Brief History of Time is considered a masterpiece.) In addition to his prolific scientific contributions, Hawking became an inspiration for his longevity in life — at the age of 21 he was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, which doctors believed would only give him a few years to live. He would need a wheelchair and used a synthesizer to help him speak for the rest of his life. Hawkins persisted in his work at Cambridge, amassing perhaps the most significant body of contributions in modern science history. (You may recall his early life being the plot to the recent Oscar-winning movie The Theory of Everything, which starred Eddie Redmayne as Hawking.)

"We are deeply saddened that our beloved father passed away today," his three children said in a joint statement to the Times. "He was a great scientist and an extraordinary man whose work and legacy will live on for many years. He once said, 'It would not be much of a universe if it wasn't home to the people you love.' We will miss him forever."

A vast amount of condolences and remembrances have been cropping up on social media, both in the scientific and Hollywood communities. "His passing has left an intellectual vacuum in his wake. But it's not empty. Think of it as a kind of vacuum energy permeating the fabric of spacetime that defies measure," Neil deGrasse Tyson wrote. "Thank you for inspiring us and the world," The Big Bang Theory's Twitter page added, as Hawking guest-starred on the show a few times. "We have lost a truly beautiful mind, an astonishing scientist and the funniest man I have ever had the pleasure to meet," Redmayne himself said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter. "My love and thoughts are with his extraordinary family."

And as Metronotes, Hawking's death coincided with the 30th anniversary of the mathematical holiday "Pi Day" as well as the anniversary of Albert Einstein's birthday. A coincidence or the galaxy paying its respects?